Greece had been near the top of our bucket list for years, and Athens was the part I had pictured the most. I wanted to stand on the Acropolis, see the Parthenon for myself, and come home with the photograph I had imagined after years of seeing it in history books and travel photos. We ended up getting two separate stays in the city, one before heading to the islands and one after, which gave us time to see the major historic sites and still wander through Plaka, the markets, neighborhoods, rooftop bars and local food stops at our own pace. By the time we left, Athens had earned a place right alongside Rome as one of our favorite cities in Europe, and we already knew we wanted to come back.
- Hotel Grande Bretagne & Syntagma Square — Our first Athens base, with Parliament outside and Acropolis views from the rooftop.
- Acropolis Museum — We walked from the hotel and began the guided tour here before heading uphill.
- Acropolis & Parthenon — The main event of Athens and the place I had been most excited to finally see in person.
- Plaka & Monastiraki — We spent the afternoon walking the historic center before stopping at a rooftop bar.
- Hotel Grande Bretagne — Back to the hotel after a long first day on foot.
- Marina Zeas, Piraeus — Pickup point for our Saronic Gulf excursion to Agistri and Aegina.
- Piraeus Cruise Port / MSC Lirica — We returned to Piraeus the next day to begin the eastern Mediterranean cruise.
- Piraeus Cruise Port — After the cruise, we came back into Athens for one more round of exploring.
- Athenaeum InterContinental Athens — Our second Athens hotel and base for the final stretch of the trip.
- Panathenaic Stadium — A quick stop outside the historic marble stadium tied to the first modern Olympics.
- Zappeion & National Garden — We continued through the gardens and past several statues and historic buildings.
- Hadrian’s Arch & Temple of Olympian Zeus — Another example of ancient Athens sitting right beside the modern city.
- Plaka, Roman Agora & Monastiraki — We worked back through the historic center and picked up places we had missed earlier.
- Athens Central Market & Psyrri — Markets, street art and neighborhoods gave this part of the day a completely different feel.
- Areopagus & Final Acropolis Views — One last elevated view back toward the Acropolis before wrapping up the day.
- Athenaeum InterContinental — We finished the route back at the hotel after another full day walking Athens.
From Raleigh to Syntagma Square
Our preparation for Greece went about the way major international trips sometimes do for us: we finished packing around 2:00 in the morning and had to leave for RDU only a few hours later. We flew American as usual and sat toward the front of economy, close enough to watch everyone in business class eat better food while we contemplated our life choices. The overnight flight to Heathrow was uneventful, and because I’ve connected through LHR plenty of times, getting through the airport wasn’t much of an issue.
We spent part of the connection in the lounge before continuing to Athens, where I mostly tried to rest and periodically looked out the window for anything recognizable below. Arrival went smoothly, and once we had our luggage, we grabbed a rideshare into the city and headed toward Hotel Grande Bretagne. The lack of sleep started losing its battle with the usual arrival adrenaline almost immediately.
Hotel Grande Bretagne and the View I Came For
I had chosen Hotel Grande Bretagne with points for several reasons. It was historic, highly rated, right on Syntagma Square and, most importantly for me, had one of the best hotel views of the Acropolis I could find. I knew before booking the trip that I wanted to come home with a great photograph of the Acropolis and Parthenon.
The hotel lived up to its reputation from the minute we arrived. Staff were quick to help with our luggage and open doors, the interior was beautiful, and our room was even better. I immediately headed for the private balcony and was surprised by how large it was and the direct view across toward the Hellenic Parliament. I honestly thought at first that something that size should have been a shared terrace rather than part of our room.
While exploring the hotel later, we went upstairs and found the rooftop view toward the Acropolis just as the evening light was beginning to change. The view was much better than I had expected, and naturally my camera was sitting back in the room. I ran down, grabbed the Canon and tripod, and returned in time to photograph the Acropolis through sunset, blue hour and into the illuminated night scene.
Laura stayed upstairs with me while I worked through the changing light, and I grabbed a drink while waiting between photographs. There was a small viewing area beside the rooftop restaurant that gave me enough space to work without being in everyone’s way. Photographing the Parthenon had been one of my biggest goals for the entire vacation, and I’d already gotten the shot I wanted before we’d even climbed the Acropolis.
Breakfast Above Athens
The following morning we returned to the GB Roof Garden for breakfast. One of the better benefits of all those years of business travel and top-tier hotel status was having breakfast included, and this was a particularly good place to take advantage of it. We asked for a table with the best Acropolis view available, loaded up from the buffet and settled in with plenty of coffee before meeting our tour.
Having breakfast while looking directly across Athens at the Parthenon was hard to beat. We weren’t rushed, either, which gave us time to enjoy the view before heading downstairs to meet the relatively small group waiting outside the hotel.
The Acropolis Museum
Our excursion began at the Acropolis Museum, with everyone using headsets to hear the guide. Laura is much better at staying beside a tour guide and listening than I am. Give me a camera and I’ll gradually drift farther away while chasing photographs until static starts coming through the headset and reminds me that I probably need to catch back up.
The archaeological excavation beneath the museum was part of the visit and was one of the more interesting parts for me. Ancient remains are visible directly beneath the modern building, immediately reinforcing just how many layers of history sit under present-day Athens. Inside the museum, I also learned things I hadn’t known beforehand, including that the Caryatids we would see outside on the Erechtheion were replicas while the surviving originals were protected inside.
I enjoyed the museum and the excavation. I probably didn’t need quite as much time in the gift shop, but that’s another feature tours seem particularly skilled at providing. Historic sites somehow require strict schedules while opportunities to purchase something rarely seem rushed.
Climbing the Acropolis
It was hot by the time we began climbing, although the walk itself wasn’t as difficult and my leg wasn’t giving me any trouble. The crowds were heavy, but the periodic stops actually worked well because they gave me different opportunities to photograph the Acropolis as we gained elevation. By the time we passed through the Propylaea, all of those structures I had seen in history books were suddenly right in front of us.
The amount of scaffolding around the Parthenon was disappointing from a photography standpoint, but there was no way it was going to take away from finally seeing it in person. We walked around the summit photographing the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Caryatids and surrounding ruins from seemingly every angle. Eventually I realized I had accumulated plenty of versions of essentially the same photograph and finally slowed down.
The views over Athens were impressive, but the city panorama wasn’t what held my attention. With the Parthenon and everything else sitting right beside us, I spent far more time looking at what was on the Acropolis than what was below it. After wanting to see the place for so long, there was plenty directly in front of me to keep the camera busy.
Plaka After the Tour
Once the organized portion of the day ended, Laura and I continued through the city on our own. We eventually decided it was time for lunch and chose Diogenes largely because its shaded terrace looked especially inviting after several hours in the sun. I don’t remember exactly what we ordered, but I had a Greek beer and appreciated getting out of the sun for a while, particularly since I managed to get sunburned on this trip like I frequently do.
From there we wandered through Plaka without much of a schedule. The Canon stayed busy with streets, churches, ruins and architecture while the Samsung came out more often when Laura and I wanted photos together. After discovering how much we enjoyed gelato while traveling in Italy, seeing DaVinci pretty much guaranteed another stop.
We continued through the Roman Agora and surrounding streets as afternoon became evening, never feeling uncomfortable or hesitant walking anywhere. Before the day ended, I told Laura I wanted to find a rooftop bar where we could cool off, rest our legs and have a Greek beer. We passed one that looked good, headed upstairs and stayed for drinks while music played in the background; I had a Mythos while Laura stuck with water before we eventually walked back to Hotel Grande Bretagne completely worn out.
A Day Beyond Athens
The following morning started once again with breakfast and that Acropolis view before we were picked up directly in front of the hotel for a day aboard Calypso A. We knew very little about Agistri and Aegina beyond what we’d seen while booking the excursion, but the combination of sailing, islands, biking and swimming looked too good to pass up, particularly with another day of perfect blue skies.
That trip deserves its own story rather than being squeezed into Athens.
We were dropped back at Hotel Grande Bretagne that evening and still went out walking again for a while, apparently deciding the day’s cycling and swimming hadn’t been enough activity.
Continue to: Agistri & Aegina — Sailing the Saronic Islands
full day aboard Calypso A took us from Athens into the Saronic Gulf for biking and swimming on Agistri, an open-water stop near Metopi, and an afternoon exploring Aegina. It was an easy way to get our first taste of the Greek islands without going far from Athens.
Explore the Agistri & Aegina Story
Leaving Athens and Coming Back
The next morning brought one more breakfast overlooking the Acropolis before checking out. I hated leaving such a great hotel, although Laura and I probably don’t qualify as ideal luxury-hotel guests because we’ll admire a beautiful room and all the amenities before disappearing for most of the day.
From Athens we headed to Piraeus and continued through several other destinations around the eastern Mediterranean. The transportation between them was never the important part for this story; Athens simply went on hold for several days while we experienced places including Kusadasi, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Rhodes and Santorini.
When we eventually returned to Piraeus, I had booked the Athenaeum InterContinental Athens using IHG points. It was another very nice hotel, although it wasn’t quite on the same level as Hotel Grande Bretagne. We unpacked, looked around the property and then did exactly what we’d done during the first stay: went back outside.
Seeing More of the City
Our second stay gave us the chance to see parts of Athens we hadn’t covered before leaving. Another excursion included the Panathenaic Stadium, where we stayed near the entrance while learning about its history and connection to the first modern Olympic Games. Laura and I have always enjoyed the Olympics, so seeing the all-marble stadium in person carried more meaning than another quick stop on an itinerary.
The route also included the Zappeion and surrounding areas before continuing past Hadrian’s Arch and other ancient sites mixed directly into the modern city. That was something I never got tired of in Athens. You could be walking along a busy street surrounded by traffic, apartments and restaurants and suddenly find something that had been standing there for centuries.
The second visit also took us through the Central Market and surrounding streets. Markets are always fun for me to photograph, and hanging meat, whole fish or active butcher counters don’t bother me in the least. Between the meat and seafood halls, produce stands, spices and people simply doing their daily shopping, this was another side of Athens that looked nothing like the archaeological sites we’d spent so much time around.
Psyrri added another layer with its murals and street art. Every major city has graffiti, but much of what we saw here was well done and added some character rather than making the area feel neglected. Overall, I remember Athens as surprisingly clean and well maintained for a city that sees this much traffic and tourism.
When the heat finally called for another break, we stopped at Hermion and I ordered an Alfa Strong 7 that had been recommended. A cold seven-percent beer after a long day walking around Athens went down remarkably well.
Eating Our Way Through Athens
Laura loves food tours, so there wasn’t much chance we were going to spend this much time in Athens without doing one. Ours was a small group led by a woman who had lived in the city her entire life, and it ended up being one of the better food tours we’ve taken. Rather than sitting in one place for a long meal, we continued walking through Athens while stopping at different shops and restaurants along the way.
At Stani I tried sheep’s-milk Greek yogurt for the first time, topped with honey and walnuts, and it was outstanding. The savory pies at MAM were another easy win, while Mokka was memorable as much for watching the Greek coffee being prepared in hot sand as for drinking it. I did make the mistake of drinking too far down into the cup and eventually found the layer of coffee grounds waiting at the bottom.
The loukoumi served with the coffee may have been my favorite little treat of the tour. We continued with souvlaki at Volvi and later a table of traditional dishes at Tis Theatrou To Steki, including calamari, which doesn’t last long around me. Everything worked together because the tour wasn’t just about eating; it also took us into small businesses and parts of Athens we might never have discovered on our own.
One More View of the Acropolis
I had researched Areopagus Hill before the trip because it looked like an excellent place to photograph the Acropolis from a completely different angle. We made our way up and weren’t disappointed. From there the Acropolis feels incredibly close while Athens stretches out in the opposite direction.
By this point I had photographed the Parthenon from our first hotel, from the streets, from the top of the Acropolis itself and from viewpoints around the city, yet I still wasn’t tired of seeing it. Later, back at the InterContinental, I found another place to attempt one final photograph, although the balcony access was closed enough that I couldn’t get exactly where I wanted for the composition.
That image wasn’t going to compete with the sunset photographs from Hotel Grande Bretagne, but that wasn’t really the point anymore. It was one last photograph before we had to leave a city we had spent years wanting to visit and had enjoyed even more than we expected.
Diogenes
We chose Diogenes after finishing our Acropolis tour because the shaded terrace near Lysikratous Square looked like the perfect place to get out of the sun. I don’t remember the exact meal, but a cold Greek beer and less than an hour off our feet were enough to get us ready to keep walking.
DaVinci Gelato
After Italy, Laura and I had developed a weakness for good gelato, so this wasn’t exactly a difficult decision. We spotted DaVinci while wandering Plaka and made the predictable stop.
Rooftop Drinks in Plaka
We didn’t research this one or make a reservation. I wanted a rooftop beer before calling it a night, we passed a place that looked good and went upstairs. A Mythos for me, water for Laura and a quiet rooftop were exactly what we needed after spending most of the day on our feet.
Hermion
Another hot afternoon eventually led us to Hermion, where an Alfa Strong 7 had been recommended. It was cold, stronger than the average beer and went down extremely easily after another long day walking Athens.
Stani
The sheep’s-milk Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts was one of the biggest surprises on the food tour. I’d eaten plenty of Greek yogurt before, but this was completely different and easily one of my favorite tastes from Athens.
MAM
The savory pies were simple, flaky and delicious. This was exactly the kind of stop I like on a food tour: something locals actually eat rather than a dish created specifically for tourists.
Mokka
Watching Greek coffee being prepared in hot sand was almost as interesting as drinking it. I learned the hard way not to keep drinking once you get near the bottom, but the loukoumi served alongside it more than made up for the mouthful of coffee grounds.
Volvi
A straightforward souvlaki stop without much fuss. Good meat, pita and seasoning didn’t need anything more complicated.
Tis Theatrou To Steki
Our table filled with traditional dishes meant for sharing, including calamari and several other meze-style plates. This was the kind of place we probably wouldn’t have found without the tour, which is one of the main reasons Laura enjoys booking them.
In the Frame
The Faces Behind This Journey
Hotel Grande Bretagne
I booked Hotel Grande Bretagne with points because the location, history and Acropolis views were exactly what I wanted for our first stay in Athens. The hotel was beautiful throughout, the staff treated us incredibly well, and our room came with a private balcony overlooking the Hellenic Parliament that I hadn’t expected at all. The biggest draw for me, though, was the rooftop view of the Acropolis, which ended up giving me the sunset, blue-hour and nighttime photographs I had hoped to bring home from this trip. We also had breakfast up there each morning with the Parthenon directly across the city, and I would stay there again without hesitation.
Athenaeum InterContinental Athens
For our return to Athens after the cruise, I used IHG points for the Athenaeum InterContinental. It was another very nice hotel and gave us a comfortable base for the second part of our stay, although it didn’t have quite the same historic feel or level of luxury as Hotel Grande Bretagne. We spent very little time sitting around either hotel because we were usually out exploring, but the InterContinental worked well for what we needed and still gave me one last chance to photograph the Acropolis before we left Greece.
Continue to: Rhodes — Inside the Medieval City
Rhodes gave us a completely different side of Greece, with Mandraki Harbor, views from Monte Smith, the Palace of the Grand Master and hours spent walking inside the walls of the Medieval City. The mix of ancient history, medieval streets and the waterfront made it one of the most varied stops of the trip.
Explore the Rhodes Story
Athens was one of the destinations where I had a specific photograph in mind long before arriving. Booking Hotel Grande Bretagne gave me the elevated Acropolis view I wanted, but the real break came from finding the rooftop at exactly the right time and going back for the tripod. Photographing the same scene through sunset, blue hour and the illuminated night gave me several very different versions without changing locations.
The Acropolis itself was a different challenge. Crowds, harsh daytime light and restoration scaffolding meant that simply arriving with a camera wasn’t going to produce a clean postcard view from every direction. Moving around, changing angles and occasionally waiting for people to clear helped, although eventually there comes a point where you’ve taken enough photographs of the same columns.
The city beyond the famous sites provided some of my favorite variety. Varvakios Market had difficult mixed lighting but plenty of activity, while Psyrri worked well for street photography and murals. Areopagus Hill gave me one of the strongest wider views of the Acropolis, and using the Samsung for many of our photos together meant I could keep the Canon set focused more heavily on the destination itself.
- A good hotel location matters in Athens. Hotel Grande Bretagne put us beside Syntagma Square and within walking distance of much of what we wanted to explore, while also giving me the Acropolis photographs I had specifically hoped to get.
- Expect to walk a lot. We used rideshare when it made sense, but once we were in central Athens we spent hours exploring on foot. Comfortable shoes were far more valuable than trying to plan transportation between every individual sight.
- The sun can wear you down quickly. September was still hot enough that shade, water and sunscreen mattered, as my sunburn eventually reminded me.
- Don’t schedule every minute. Some of our favorite parts of Athens happened after the organized tours ended and we simply started walking.
- Headsets are useful if you’re carrying a camera. They allowed me to wander away from the guide for photographs without completely losing the tour. Static became my unofficial distance warning.
- Tours and independent exploring worked well together. The guides showed us places we might not have understood or found on our own, while our unscheduled time gave us the freedom to stop whenever something caught our attention.
- If the Acropolis matters to you photographically, see it under more than one kind of light. Our rooftop views at sunset, blue hour, night and morning looked completely different even though I barely moved.
Athens had plenty of moments that worked better in motion than in a still frame. Watching the Evzones perform the Changing of the Guard and stopping for a street musician while wandering the city both added something the photographs couldn’t quite capture—the rhythm, sound and atmosphere of being there.
Changing of the Guard in Athens
We stopped at Syntagma Square to watch the Evzones perform the Changing of the Guard in front of the Hellenic Parliament. The slow, deliberate movements and distinctive uniforms make the ceremony unlike anything else we saw in Athens, and it was one of those traditions that made more sense once we actually stood there and watched it happen.
Street Music in Athens
While walking through the city, we came across a street musician playing a cimbalom, a hammered string instrument with a sound that immediately made us stop and listen. It was one of those unplanned moments that had nothing to do with the major attractions but still became part of how I remember walking through Athens.
Behind the Lens
I’m Steve—a retired Army vet who traded rucksacks for camera bags and never stopped exploring. What started with a simple 110 film camera grew into photographing all 50 states and 30+ countries, from quick business-trip detours to adventures with my wife Laura. Shutter Nomadica is where I share those travels through the photographs, stories, and moments that made each place memorable.
Continue to: Santorini — Caldera Views and Whitewashed Villages
Santorini had been high on my photography list for years, and seeing Oia and Fira above the caldera lived up to it. We mixed the classic island views with wine tasting, churches, narrow streets and plenty of time looking out over one of the most recognizable landscapes in Greece.
Explore the Santorini Story![The Roman Aqueduct of Segovia crosses Plaza del Azoguejo on two tiers of granite arches.](https://shutternomadica.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/0H7A4719-HDR.webp")